David Lereah Watch

David Lereah is the former Chief Economist and Senior VP of the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Between 2001 and 2007, Mr. Lereah regularly made statements regarding the housing bubble. The media regulary turned to him for real estate quotes. He was very influential.
Mr. Lereah tells half truths and manipulates facts and figures. He cannot be trusted as he was a paid shill.

Monday, April 30, 2007

David Lereah To Leave Realtors and Join Move Inc.

David Lereah, senior vice president and chief economist of the National Association of Realtors(R) for the past seven years, is joining Move Inc. as executive vice president of a new business entity, effective in mid-May.

Not missing a beat, NAR's executive vice president and CEO, Dale Stinton, announced that:

David is an expert on real estate and the economy, and his stature and expertise enhanced NAR's position as the most credible source on economic and policy issues affecting the housing industry in the United States and abroad. We wish him the greatest success in his new endeavor."

Within a few weeks, David Lereah will no longer be working at the National Association of Realtors. Mr. Lereah has lost credibility during the past few years, as he cheered the housing bubble and then called a 'bottom' at least four times. Was he forced to leave because he lost credibility?

Soon, Mr. Lereah will be much less quoted in the mainstream press. Mr. Lereah's reign of half truths, manipulations and cheerleading will soon be over.

In a Reuters article today "One blog, David Lereah Watch, cites passages from Lereah's books and his encouraging words about the housing market and asks him to "admit he cheerleaded this destructive housing bubble."

Update: Mr. Lereah will stay at the NAR "at least through the mid-year meetings, which end on May 19" according to a NAR spokesman.

Lereah Comments on NARs 2006 Housing Snapshot

From MarketWatch: "A sharp drop in investment-home sales offset a record number of vacation-home purchases to bring down the overall share of second-home purchases in 2006, the National Association of Realtors reported Monday."

"The share of second-home sales was 36% of all existing and new residential real estate transactions in 2006, down from 40% of all sales in 2005, the group said."

"Vacation-home sales went up 4.7% to a record 1.07 million homes in 2006 from 1.02 million in 2005, driven largely by demographic trends. Meanwhile, investment-home sales dropped 28.9%, falling to 1.65 million homes in 2006 from 2.32 million in 2005, according to the group's annual survey of investment- and vacation-home buyers."

"The share of vacation-homes rose, making up 14% of all home sales, up from 12% in 2005. Of all homes purchased last year, 22% were for investment, down from 28% in 2005. For comparison, primary-residence sales fell 4.1% during the time; in 2006, there were 4.82 million primary home sales, down from 5.02 million in 2005." Commenting on the report Mr. Lereah stated that:

"We expected the drop in investment sales because speculators left the market in 2006, which caused investment sales to fall much faster than the primary market, but the rise in vacation-home sales is based on strong demographic and lifestyle factors, with only modest interest in renting their properties to others"

"The drop in investment prices comes as no surprise, but for vacation-home prices to edge down in a record market is a bit puzzling," Lereah said. "It may result from a large dumping of inventory on the market by speculators, especially in the condo sector, with long-term, second-home buyers taking advantage of the glut and buying at negotiated discounts."

"Anecdotally, part of the drop in the median investment price results from investors shifting away from pricier markets like Florida, Nevada and Arizona, and into affordable locations in New Mexico, Idaho, Utah, Georgia, Tennessee and the Carolina."

Sunday, April 15, 2007

Excerpt from Lereah's Book March 2005

" I believe that in years to come historians will see the beginning of the twenty-first century as the "golden age" of real estate. And I want to persuade you to take advantage of this historic opportunity. "

["Are You Missing the Real Estate Boom? Why Home Values and Other Real Estate Investments will Climb Through the End of the Decade-And How To Profit From Them" March 2005, p4]

Thursday, April 12, 2007

More Proof David Lereah Has Lost Credibility

The peak of the housing bubble in the US in general was summer of 2005. David Lereah, the Realtors chief cheerleader recently said that:

“‘In August 2005 we peaked,’ Lereah said. ‘That was the end of the boom. We just went down from there."

True. One of Lereah'sbook which was published in Febuary 2005 was titled:

'Are You Missing the Real Estate Boom?: Why Home Values and Other Real Estate Investments Will Climb Through the End of the Decade -- and How to Profit From Them'

David Lereah should admit he cheerleaded this destructive housing bubble. It is time for Mr. Lereah to be remorseful and not backpedal. This guy has lost credibility. The media should be much more skeptical and critical of Lereah.

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Two Reviews on Amazon For David Lereah's New Book

A very useful read. Mr. Lereah provides excellent insights about real estate investing, whether it's labeled "buyer" or "seller" market. In very readable style, he outlines the factors we all should look into, when buying our own home or considering other real estate investment. Former US House Speaker Tip O'Neill was right on the money about politics being local...and David Lereah is on the money (for all of us) about the LOCAL factors affecting real estate.

But who is the reviewer? Robert N Authier. A Google search for Robert N Authier reveals that he is a Realtor. A fellow housing cheerleader supporting thier leader. Bravo!

The next review attacks the book and David Lereah stating that:

Mr. Lereah likes to publish books. Tragically, they have almost comedic timing. He wrote a book on how to get rich in tech stocks that came out in 2000, when the tech stock market collapsed. His previous book was about how the housing market would continue to grow at double digit rates through the end of the decade. He then re-released it when it was obvious that there was a bubble with a new title on why the real estate bubble won't bust. That brings us to his latest book All Real Estate is Local. Now he tries to backpedal off of his hyping of the bubble areas and start bombastically declaring that even though the national trend of inflating housing prices across the country has stalled and is reversing, you can still find good deals if you start focusing on tinier and tinier sections of housing, down to individual neighborhoods. The cheap, easy money that fueled the boom is on the way out, and it will be harder and harder to qualify for loans and interest rates are likely to keep rising. The net result is stagnant or deflationary housing prices.

He's been wrong in his previous two books, and now he's swinging for the fences at a ball that's in the dirt for his third. Instead of saying "Buy everything!" like his last books, now he's saying "Move your buying to an area that isn't already wildly overpriced!" So write those checks for investment homes in Topeka, Kansas everybody!

If you want a book to educate you about real estate investing, this isn't it. If you want a book that tries to convince you to stuff money into some realtor's pocket, then this is the book for you. If you just want to buy yourself a home, forget all the real estate books and calculate your renting costs vs. your owning costs, and then make an informed decision as to when you want to purchase

Good job attacking Mr. Lereah and his books. This blog will continue monitoring the reviews of Lereah's latest book.

Friday, April 06, 2007

Dissecting David Lereah's Book

Thursday, April 05, 2007

David Lereah's New Book is Released

David Lereah has done it again. He has written yet another book titled 'All Real Estate is Local: Why Understanding the Housing Trends in Your Area Is Essential to Building Wealth.' The book was just released on April 3rd, 2007. It should have been released two days earlier.

From the Publisher:

Book Description

When real estate booms nationally, there are hundreds of cities and regions that lag behind. Similarly, when the market slows or flattens, countless states and neighborhoods begin to boom. As Lereah makes clear, the most important factor in buying or selling a home is the local market conditions. Lereah shows readers how to:

Evaluate the values of homes in one's own town or county

Determine whether property values in your targeted neighborhood are on the rise

Assess the market conditions in locations when buying a vacation or second home

Learn how to identify markets that are overvalued or fully valued, and those that promise to appreciate more quickly in the future

Understand the local economic developments that can affect oneÂs investment in the future

There are countless books offering advice on making money in real estate. This is the first one to explain why knowing the ins and outs of your local region is essential to deciding when, and where, to buy.

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Mr. Lereah tells half truths and manipulates facts and figures. He cannot be trusted as he is a paid shill. Don't buy his book. Figure out ways to mock his book!